This invention has for its objective the provision of a very simple and entirely practical solution for a recognized safety hazard in the home which heretofore has not been dealt with in a satisfactory manner.
The problem concerns the safety hazard to small children mainly in the one to three year old categories presented by toilet bowls filled with water without any seat and lid locking means. In such unguarded situations, the child can easily drown head-down in the bowl and this happens on a far too frequent basis each year in the United States. Also, small pets can be similarly drowned and sewer systems are easily cloged up as a result of children placing foreign objects, such as toys, in the toilet bowl.
The prior patented art reveals a number of teachings attempting to deal with the above problem but in no known instance is the patented solution satisfactory and entirely practical and, therefore, no toilet seat and lid locking device on a wide commercial scale has yet been adopted. Therefore, the safety hazard continues to exist unabated.
The reason why no prior art device has yet been adopted widely on a commercial basis is that most prior art proposals involve structures which are too costly which require substantial modification of the conventional bowl and/or seat and lid structures, and are not completely automatic in locking the lid and seat whenever the lid is returned to the closed position. In essence, the prior art proposals have not been operationally adequate and convenient and have not been economically feasible or practical.
The present invention is believed to offer a very inexpensive, highly convenient, completely automatic and therefore entirely practical solution to the above-noted safety hazard. A simple locking device in the form of an attachment to a toilet seat lid requires no structural modification of the toilet bowl or the standard seat and lid or its hinges. A single mounting bar attached to the bottom of the lid carries a pivoted locking arm at its rear end between the seat and lid hinge structure, with the locking arm disposed slightly rearwardly thereof. The rigid locking arm is biased by a spring to a positive seat and lid locking position. Whenever the lid is closed the positive locking arm moves automatically and unfailingly to its locking position where it engages a stop. In this position, it is impossible to raise the toilet seat or its lid, and hence a child is protected. The locking arm can be shifted to a release position against spring force by the mere flick of a finger, allowing the seat and lid to be swung to a full open position in the normal manner.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art during the course of the following description.